country's reckless policies. this is robbing our cities and states of critical investments and infrastructure like bridges, ports and levees. every dollar we pay in interest is a dollar that is not going to investment in america's priorities. instead, interest payments are a significant tax on all americans, a debt tax, that washington doesn't want to talk about. increasing america's debt weakens domestically and internationally. leadership means that the buck stops here. instead, washington is shifting the burden on bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. america has a debt problem. and a failure of leadership. americans deserve better. all of those words were taken from then senator obama's statement before he voted against raising the debt ceiling in 2006. truer words cannot have been spoken today. the debt burden the president was concerned about a few years ago is still a very real threat today. congress should pass a responsible budget so we have a road map to get to our serious